With the LaCie Hexa Media Drive, you can read from and write to six different kinds of memory cards: CompactFlash, Memory Stick, MultiMediaCard, SD Card, SmartMedia, and the IBM Microdrive, which uses the CompactFlash Type II interface (CF II+, actually, with the plus sign to indicate that the device is not a flash card). The Hexa is a small, silver device that weighs only 3 ounces and takes up no more space than your wallet. It handles all six media types through two front drive slotswhich can be used concurrentlyand operates without the help of an external power adapter. To install it, simply plug a cable into your notebook's USB port, and if you're using an older OS, install a driver or two. We tested the drive's ability to transfer files from CF. Across all brands, it averaged 3 minutes 35 seconds moving our 170MB BMP file and 5:38 transferring our complex directory. Of all the CF readers we reviewed, only the PNY unit was slower. But the Hexa is much more than a CompactFlash reader; few other readers handle so many media types. If you know you'll need such capability, perhaps you can ignore the sluggish performance.

LaCie Hexa Media Drive

LaCie Hexa Media Drive

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